Quote:
Originally Posted by DGthe3
There is no way that anyone could have predicted the path of the economy over the last year. GM should have been more or less even over the course of 2008. Instead they are set to lose over 10B.
And what could they have done differently over the last 5 years? They have made drastic cuts to their workforce in an attempt to reduce cost, and they have been cranking out hit after hit with almost every new vehicle they introduce. They have come to an agreement with the UAW to significantly reduce their costs come 2010. They've quietly been streamlining their platforms. Despite all that, they are now reduced to selling off their remaining stake in Suzuki which gives them enough cash to last 4 days at their current expenditure rate.
I don't think there are many people who can take an instant and unexpected 30% pay cut and have enough in the bank to ride things out for 1-2 years. Thats essentially what has happened to the auto industry this year, the domestic automakers are faring even worse.
Pete, that wasn't all directed at you. You're post was merely an excuse to say a bunch of those things.
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I am so sick of people saying that GM should have known better. GM just introduced cars like the new Malibu, the 2005 and later Cobalt (less than 5 years old), and other platforms that show that GM has been working hard on its image. It takes a couple of years to make a new car, and GM has been working on these cars since before the market crash. It's ridiculous to say that GM hasn't been working on its image or selling to the best of its ability.